So, when do I get my ultrasound?

I didn't really realize how important an ultrasound was to a pregnant woman.

I always just assumed the primary purpose was for medical reasons. Like determining the sex of the baby or to make sure that everything was where it was supposed to be.

After Rhea and I got pregnant, I figured we'd get a sonogram when the doctor told us we were going to have one. That's why he's the Doctor. Seemed pretty straight forward.

But leading up to last week's appointment (our second) Rhea was feeling anxious. Many of her friends had gotten sonograms much earlier on in their pregnancies. In some cases as early as 6 weeks. So, here we are going into our second appointment about 10 weeks along and we still hadn't had one. I think she really wanted to know that everything was ok.

Anyway, we went into the exam room and he came in and did all the poking and prodding. "10 weeks," he confirmed. "Everything looks good. Meet me in my office and we'll have a quick
chat."

He took out the results of Rhea's blood tests from the last appointment. The good news is that Rhea was negative for all of the following: HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis, Gonorrhea, Herpes, HPV.

After ticking off the results of the blood test he asked "So, questions for me?"

Rhea quickly responded with a direct and fiery "Yeah, when do I get my ultrasound?"

Without a hiccup he said, "We can schedule that for you today."

Smart man our Our Doctor. He usually likes to spend some time explaining how and when things generally should happen. But in this case, I think he saw the look in her eye and knew it would probably be best not to give her a long drawn out medical explanation about how all women and pregnancies are different and some women get ultrasounds sooner, and some later.

When we got home I read that before the ultrasound, women had less reason to feel attached to their baby during the early stages of pregnancy. But now they say a woman who sees a sonogram image of her unborn child feels more attached to her baby and wants to know and protect it more.

So, we get our first glimpse of The Beck Bump on Dec 15 and will be sure to post the photos here.

Oh, and is it me, or does the ultrasound machine bear a striking resemblance to R2D2?